Sunday, June 07, 2009

Castella or Kasutera (Japanese Sponge Cake)

Kasutera is a sponge cake made of sugar, flour, eggs, and honey. It is a specialty of Nagasaki Japan, but the cake is originally from Spain. The name is believed to derive from a region called Castilla. During the 16th century, a Portuguese ship came into Nagasaki, which used to be the port of Japanese commerce.

Kasutera is made of natural ingredients, so its simple taste is a favorite of many Japanese people. There are now many kinds of kasutera, made with various ingredients. For example, there are kasuteras made with powdered green tea, cocoa, citrus and also brown sugar. I got the recipe from A Note From My Food Diary and I made a few minor changes to it.

1. Prepared a square 8 x 8” square baking pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper and grease it well. Preheat oven to 350 degree F and place a rack in the middle of the oven.2. In a mixer whip eggs and sugar on high speed for 5 minutes or until batter forms a ribbon when the wire whip is lifted, the color should be light yellow.3. Turn down the mixer to medium speed; slowly pour the flour mixture into the batter. Next add the milk and then orange juice. Mix it well. Then add the orang zest, honey and mix it again well. Last, add the oil and make sure it is incorporated into the batter thoroughly.4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Place it in the oven and bake for 10 minutes in 350 degree F. After that, lower the temperature to 325 degree F and bake for 45 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.5. Remove from the pan as soon as it is done. Place it on the cooling rack and let it cool completely. Wrap with plastic wrap overnight before cutting.

at first glance it's look like the cheesecake!! I can imagine how light ,soft and fluffy is this cake!! Thanks for sharing!! I might tried this cake later ,got to finish some cheese cake and kueh nee kor first!

I was interested in this honey cake too (because I had a big bottle of honey at home). Btw, what is the purpose of wrapping it with plastic wrap overnight before cutting? Let me print your recipe first. :)

LCOM, I check a few recipe online and this recipe seems to be the easiest to make that is why I choose this :) I think by letting this cake sit overnight is to let the cake develope its flavor. I find it's more moist after a couple of days.

Christelle, if you can find a Japanese supermarket at your area you might be able to get this cake :)

Anon, I am not sure what happen to your cake. The idea of wrapping up the cake and eat it the next day is tp let the cake mature in taste. If your cake is not spongy and fluffy it might be the egg and sugar are not whip long enough.

Thank you for sharing this recipe! I've been looking for an easy recipe for castella for a long time, so I'm glad that I stumbled upon your blog! :) The cake is baking in the oven right now. But I'm wondering...my cake rose a lot, but is it supposed to? According to your picture, the height of the cake before it is baked should be about the same after it is baked right?

Hello, I am planning to bake this cake really soon, but I want to put some whipping cream with it (with the gelatin and all?), will it go well with it and would I refrigerate it? I'm making it a day before serving it, so if I put it with the whipped cream, do I put it in the fridge?

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About Me

I was born and raised in Malaysia and now live in Northern California, USA with my wonderful husband Carlos. I love to bake and cook. It is very relaxing and I find my creativity flowing in the kitchen. I creates this blog to record all my cooking and baking adventures and also share my tested recipes with you.
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